Many older adults struggle with mild cognitive impairment, also called MCI. This condition causes small but noticeable problems with memory, thinking, planning, and decision‑making.
MCI is not the same as dementia, but it can be an early warning sign. People with MCI have a higher chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease later on.
Because of this, doctors and researchers pay close attention to any other habits or health issues that might make MCI worse.
A new study published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research has found that older adults who have both MCI and drink heavily may be at greater risk of falling than those with MCI who do not drink heavily. Falls are extremely dangerous for older adults. They can lead to broken bones, hospital stays, and long‑term disability.
This makes it very important to understand what increases fall risk, especially for people whose memory and thinking are already weakened.
Heavy drinking affects the brain and the body in many ways. Alcohol damages the parts of the brain that control balance, coordination, and judgment. It also harms nerves in the feet and legs, making it harder to feel the ground or stay steady while standing or walking.
Alcohol use can also worsen or speed up memory decline. Unfortunately, even though alcohol can be harmful, more and more older adults are drinking heavily.
The study included 226 adults between the ages of 45 and 90. They were placed into four groups. One group had MCI. Another group had alcohol use disorder, also called AUD, which means they drank heavily and had problems controlling their drinking.
A third group had both MCI and AUD. The last group had neither condition and served as the healthy control group. None of the participants drank alcohol on the day of testing.
The researchers gave everyone several tests to measure balance and stability. Participants stood with their feet together or apart, and with their eyes open or closed. These tests help show how well the body can stay upright under different challenges.
The researchers also tested how well people could feel touches on the soles of their feet, because reduced sensation in the feet can lead to poor balance. They also assessed memory, thinking skills, movement abilities, and history of drinking and falls.
The results were clear. People with alcohol use disorder, whether or not they had MCI, were less stable on their feet than the healthy group.
They swayed more, had more trouble keeping balance, and performed worse under difficult conditions like standing with their feet together and eyes closed. The group with both MCI and AUD also had worse foot sensation than the healthy group.
In fact, their sensation scores were as poor as the AUD‑only group, even though the MCI+AUD group had actually consumed less alcohol over the past year and across their lifetime. This suggests that having both MCI and heavy drinking makes the body even more vulnerable, combining the harmful effects of each condition into something more serious.
Interestingly, people who had only MCI but did not drink heavily had balance similar to the healthy group. This means that MCI alone may not greatly affect balance at early stages. But when MCI is combined with heavy drinking, balance becomes much worse.
The researchers found that the two strongest factors related to poor balance were age and how much alcohol a person drank in the past year. This means that cutting down or stopping alcohol could reduce fall risk. It might even help slow down cognitive decline, although more research is needed to confirm this.
This study highlights a key message: alcohol use is a modifiable risk factor. People with MCI cannot change their past, and they cannot change their age, but they can make choices about alcohol. Reducing heavy drinking may be one of the simplest and most powerful ways to protect balance, prevent falls, and safeguard brain health.
Overall, the study shows that heavy drinking can greatly increase the dangers faced by older adults with mild cognitive impairment. It weakens balance, reduces foot sensation, and may worsen memory decline.
The findings suggest that healthcare providers should screen for alcohol use in older adults with MCI and offer support to help reduce drinking. Making this change could lower the chance of falls and improve the quality of life.
If you care about dementia, please read studies about the power of healthy fats for brain health, and wild blueberries can benefit your heart and brain.
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